I love Ernest Hemingway’s work - he truly was brilliant. But honestly, I know very little about his personal history. A few months ago Mrs. Hemingway appeared on a few IG accounts I follow, and it looked really unique. Basically, the book is divided into four sections, each from the point of view of one of his wives. The sections focus on the end of each marriage, with flashbacks to how they started. There is some overlap, as 3 of the 4 relationships ended with a mistress waiting in the wings.

As you can imagine, it’s not a flattering portrait of Ernest - he is portrayed as a chronically unfaithful, depressed alcoholic. But honestly, I was more concerned about the portrayal of each of the women. Frankly, it was troubling; each woman was characterized only in relation to her feelings for Ernest. Their personalities and passions disappeared as they entered his orbit. And all characters outside of Ernest and his wives were rather shallow, pale shades of what they could have been. That was disappointing.

Thankfully, the story itself was engaging - I finished it quickly. And Wood’s writing style was simple, clear and flowed well - so I enjoyed that aspect of it. I just wish it had gone that one step further and given those women more of a voice.